15 October 2004	Friday	29 Shaban 1425

PESHAWAR, Oct 14: District governments' failure in completing development projects at a fast pace during the 2003-04 financial year has left more than Rs 575 million unspent, according to official sources.

"Heavy funds lapsed because of the district governments' failure to spend the development funds released to them separately," a finance manager of the provincial government conceded when contacted.

According to recently compiled official figures of the development funds utilized last year, the district governments appeared to have put up poor show in spending development funds. The provincial government, according to sources, had earmarked a total amount of Rs 963.4 million for the district governments' annual development programme.

The amount was to be distributed among 24 district governments in accordance with their respective share, which was calculated on the basis of resource distribution formula laid down under the last financial year's provincial finance commission (PFC) award.

The provincial government, the officials said, released a total of Rs 842.6 million against the Rs 963.4 million earmarked for the district governments for their development programme.

Out of the amount distributed among them, district governments and their project executing agencies could hardly spend a total of Rs 266 million, leaving around Rs 575 million unspent.

"The funds," said an official "have been carried forward to the provincial governments' current financial year's accounts and would be utilized by the district government concerned."

Officials said that the district governments lacked the capacity to plan and design development projects with the result that most of them failed to utilize the funds provided to them.

The funds utilized by the district governments, according to official figures, make 32 per cent of the amount put at their disposal and 28 per cent of the allocation specified for them for the 2003-04 financial year.

Non-utilization of development funds has added to the woes of the provincial government, which faced difficult time because of its own project executing agencies, who put up an impressive show as far as the utilization of development funds was concerned.

Out of the Rs 10.2 billion funds released by the provincial government to its project executing agencies - other than district governments - a total of about Rs 8.6 billion could be spent, which makes 62 per cent of the Rs 13.75 billion earmarked for the development schemes other than district governments' ADP.